New “Percy Jackson” novel sparks nostalgia
Throughout a vast portion of my childhood, I was knee-deep in a Greek Mythology phase. I read books, watched movies and listened to podcasts. This ancient world of magic fascinated me, and “Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians” only exacerbated this interest. Much of my elementary and middle school years were spent obsessing over Percy, Annabeth and Grover, and upon the last page of “The Blood of Olympus” I was left devastated that I would have to leave this beloved world behind.
Fortunately for 12-year-old me, my journeys within Camp Half-Blood would not end there as I had previously thought. In fact, Rick Riordan has just released the sixth book in his best-selling series, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.”
“The Chalice of the Gods,” published Sept. 26, follows Percy as he navigates the treacherous waters of college applications, only to find out that he must obtain three letters of recommendation from various gods, and that the only way to achieve these letters is to complete dangerous quests.
Eager to finally start a new life in California at New Rome University, away from the constant threat of monsters, Percy jumps on the challenge, accompanied by his closest friends Grover and Annabeth. His first quest is to find the gods’ cup-bearer, Ganymede’s, stolen magic chalice before Zeus’ next big feast.
“The Chalice of the Gods” was a very nostalgic read for me, as well as many others of my age. While the previous “Percy Jackson” books are widely considered “for kids,” I still found myself entertained, and racing to the last page. I believe that this is primarily because Riordan recognized that much of his original audience at the time of the series’ original publication, has since grown up. Therefore, it was very comforting to see the characters that as a child I viewed as heroes struggling with the same teenage issues that I am currently dealing with as a junior in high school, such as college applications.
The novel was quickly paced, and extremely entertaining, filled to the brim with the sarcasm, banter, and hilariously named chapter titles that everyone has come to associate with the series. Despite the book being published nine years after its predecessor, I do not think that Riordan has lost touch with the characters’ original personalities, or with his memorable writing style.
The seventh book of the series, “Wrath of the Triple Goddess,” has already been confirmed, and I immensely look forward to reading it. No matter how old I get, “Percy Jackson” will always remain one of my favorite book series, and I urge anyone who loved these novels as a child to give it another chance; you might find yourself relating to it a lot more than you would think.
